The Moose Jaw and District Food Bank (MJDFB) has grown considerably during its 40 years of operation, and that growth has necessitated a restructuring of its board and operations. 

MJDFB has been working with a consultant over the past two years to address the changes needed to accommodate its growth. 

“We’re experiencing a lot of growing pains, in a good way, over the last three years or so since we relocated and expanding,” said Daycee Richardson, Board Chair of MJDFB. 

Richardson explained that during the first 40 years the MJDFB has been operating with a management board, and the move to a policy-based board model was necessary to meet the organization's future needs.  

“As an organization grows, a management board can become a bottleneck because they’re not there every day. If you have to wait a month on every decision that you’re going to make, that can really slow down shifting to meet needs or to care for clients in the best way,” said Richardson. 

A major component of these changes was appointing Jason Moore as the organization’s first Executive Director. Moore had previously worked with the Food Bank and the impact of his work with the organization is still felt to this day, with Richardson noting that Moore was instrumental in the Food Bank’s relocation project several years ago. 

“We know he’s got a great capacity for team building and leadership. He’s very passionate. He has experience with other non-profits,” said Richardson. “He’s got a really great understanding of the bigger issues surrounding poverty.” 

The MJDFB will be undergoing several large changes under its new leadership, all of which promise to take a proactive approach to combatting food insecurity within the community. 

“We are looking at different opportunities for programs that can help our clients reduce their need for emergency food services,” said Jason Moore, Executive Director of the MJDFB. 

Moore explained that introducing work training programs and life skills courses could be an important component of this new proactive plan. 

His concern is that the increasing demand for emergency food services is not just a trend within Moose Jaw but is a growing national problem. 

“We aren’t the only food bank that is realizing this ... I’ve been in touch with lots of different food banks and executive directors and planning committees.” said Moore.  

“We are all facing the same situation and we realized that we need to work together to tackle this.”  

The food bank is also making changes to their hours to better accommodate the increase in clients who work full-time, who now make up a larger portion of food bank users. 

“Starting at the beginning of June we will be open Wednesday evenings from 4:00 till 7:00 p.m. so that people who need to access services (during those hours) can do so.” said Moore. 

Moore explained that with these changes comes the need for more volunteers to assist with the expanding role of the Moose Jaw and District Food Bank: 

“We can always use volunteers at the food bank. The community does an excellent job of supporting us financially, and with volunteers. Now that we are increasing our hours of operation, we are going to need more volunteers to help us do the work.”  

He also noted that there will be events in celebration of the Moose Jaw and District Food Bank’s 40th anniversary and encourages the public to attend.